Shoemaker: Support the Ravens? Nevermore.

NFL players on Sunday made a point of demonstrating during the national anthem. (Sept. 25, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

NFL players on Sunday made a point of demonstrating during the national anthem. (Sept. 25, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

Haven ShoemakerOther Voices

When the Cleveland Browns announced that they were moving to Baltimore, I became an instant fan. I had grown up rooting for Johnny Unitas and Bert Jones, and was starved for the return of football to Baltimore.

So, I bought PSLs and season tickets, which I held for 21 years. For the first 20 years they were here, I missed a total of four home games. I watched my son grow up by my side down at the stadium.

He went with me to road games, playoff games and both Super Bowls. I wouldn’t trade the football-centered experiences that he and I shared for anything. The Ravens were more than just entertainment — they were part of the fabric of our family from August to January of each year.

Nevermore.

Football is a game. Football players are entertainers. I couldn’t care less about their political views. I paid money to watch them play a game. If I wanted to be hectored on politics, there are plenty of people who I could get that from through my job in Annapolis. So, the last thing I want is for a bunch of overpaid, overgrown, cry-baby behemoths protesting the ills of a nation that’s been pretty damned good to them in front of a national viewing audience.

Sunday took the whole biscuit. Not only did Terrell Suggs and about a dozen other Ravens players — as well as former star Ray Lewis — take a knee during the playing of the national anthem, but they did so on foreign soil.

Not only did they bring shame upon the city they represent — the city that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner” — but they did it in England, the country we were fighting when the anthem was written.

The Ravens have discussed their pregame plans for Sunday’s AFC North tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but will not reveal whether they intend to kneel, sit down or raise a fist during the playing of the national anthem before the 1 p.m. kickoff at M&T Bank Stadium.

“We’ve talked,” strong safety...

To add insult to injury, these buffoons demonstrated unmitigated disrespect to millions of men and women who have served in the U.S. military throughout our history to secure these dummies’ right to play a game.

They claim that they have the right to protest. And they do, thanks to the bloodshed on battlefields throughout the world by brave Americans who fought under that banner and for that anthem.

But I have rights, too. I have the right to burn my Ravens flag, to not attend any more games, to not buy any more merchandise, and to use my remote to flip to “Bonanza” whenever they come on the tube.

Steve Bisciotti’s and John Harbaugh’s lame attempt to rally behind the players does not mollify me; I am very disillusioned with the NFL. On Sunday, join me in taking a knee on the NFL. Watch some “Bonanza.”

It’s been about three years since William Anoh came to America. And in those three years, Anoh, 20, of Ghana, has grown — personally, socially and educationally. May 23, Anoh will come away from Carroll Community College with a degree in social sciences and a plan to head to Towson University.

It’s been about three years since William Anoh came to America. And in those three years, Anoh, 20, of Ghana, has grown — personally, socially and educationally. May 23, Anoh will come away from Carroll Community College with a degree in social sciences and a plan to head to Towson University.

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Michael Yeboah, also known by his stage name 'Da Kid Emm,' talks about getting his start at Spargos/Two Doors Down in Manchester, Md., plays a game of pool and drinks lemon drops with his wife, Claudia.

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